The end of an affair: Ensign to resign

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, announced late Thursday that he is resigning in the wake of a scandal that involved an extramarital affair with the wife of the man who was his chief aide.

Ensign had announced that he would not seek reelection in 2012, but was still under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee.

In a statement, Ensign said that “I will not continue to subject my family, my constituents, or the Senate to any further rounds of investigation, depositions, drawn out proceedings or especially public hearings.

“For my family and me, this continued personal cost is simply too great.”

Ensign, a wealthy former casino executive, was a member of the Senate Republican leadership and once rumored as a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate.

But he had an affair with Cindy Hampton, wife of his chief aide Doug Hampton. Afterward, Ensign worked to get Doug Hampton a lobbying job, and the senator’s wealthy parents made $96,000 in payments to the Hamptons.

The lowering of Ensign allows Nevada’s GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval to appoint a successor, almost certainly Republican Rep. Dean Heller. A special election will be held to fill Heller’s House seat.

As an appointed incumbent, Heller would get an edge in what’s expected to be one of the nation’s closest Senate races. Popular Las Vegas Congresswoman Shelly Berkley is the likely Democratic nominee.

Nevada is a swing state, and will be fought over in the 2012 presidential race. President Obama staged a town meeting early Thursday in Remo.

Tea Party favorite Sharon Angle, who lost to Democratic Sen. Harry Reid in 2010, has announced that she will run for Heller’s House seat.